Philip the Arab

Philip the Arab (204-September 249) was Emperor of the Roman Empire from 244 to 249, succeeding Gordian III and preceding Decius.

Biography
Philip was from Philippopolis in Arabia Petraea (Shahba, al-Suwayda Governorate, Syria), and he was the son of a Syrian man named Julius Marinus. He agreed to let Armenia remain in the Sassanid Empire's sphere of influence, and in 246 he defeated the Carpi tribe when they invaded Moesia. Philip was also considered to be the first Christian emperor, as he attended Easter mass with the Patriarch of Antioch Babylas (although he was forced to stand with the commoners) and was said to have converted.

In 249, the legions of Pannonia and Moesia rebelled against him, unhappy with the results of the war with the Carpi. The Quadi invaded Moesia, the Goths invaded Thrace, and the Carpi invaded Dacia, while usurpers Jotapianus, Silbannacus, and Sponsianus all rose in rebellion. Riots in Egypt cut off the grain supply to the city of Rome, and his general Decius led 40,000 troops against Philip's 20,000 troops at Verona. Philip and his 12-year-old son Philip Arabs were both killed.